Evaluating “resource support” dimension of courseware of Shahid Beheshti University based on Khan’s framework: a reflection on students' experiences

The goal of this study was to assess Shahid Beheshti University’s courseware in terms of technical, instructional, and counseling based on Khan’s e-learning framework through reflection on students’ experiences.

The study used a grounded theory research design. The statistical population of the study was undergraduate students from Faculty of Education and Psychology who had taken Shahid Beheshti University's courseware. Participants were 32 students that were selected by purposeful criterion-based sampling method. Using semi-structured interviews, information was obtained to achieve the researcher's theoretical saturation. The findings were analyzed using Strauss and Corbin coding methods at open and axial coding levels.

The findings from the analysis of one-to-one interviews indicated that: 1. Loss of information from group discussions; 2. Lack of access to useful resources and links in the courseware; 3. Little information about user/support team participation status; 4. Lack of attention to instructional support to student’s success in courseware; and 5. Inadequate information about the activities of service desk have influenced the motivation and continuous activity in the courseware. Most importantly, these issues affect the users’ attitudes towards e-learning.

The study of students' experiences showed that the resource support of the courseware needs more review and attention. Ignoring this dimension of e-learning will create a gap between the potential of technology on learning and its use in practice. In other words, the lack of instructional, counseling and technical support affected users' attitudes towards e-learning. According technology acceptance model, perceived ease-of-use will be affected by usefulness of e-learning system. So that, students will not be inclined to continue their activities using it. Therefore, the present study recommends continuous evaluation of the courseware to identify the behavior pattern of users during the activity in the course and apply the necessary support mechanisms. For example, this goal can be achieved